The Schottky Diode Mixer

Application Note 995

Introduction
A major application of the Schottky diode is the production of the
difference frequency when two frequencies are combined or mixed in
the diode. This mixing action is the result of the non-linear relationship
between current and voltage, usually expressed as:
q(V – IRS)
(
I = IS e nkT –1 )
The series resistance, RS, is a parasitic element representing bulk
resistance of the semiconductor and contact resistance. It is
sometimes confused with dynamic resistance which is the sum of the
series resistance and the resistance of the junction where the
frequency conversion takes place.

The ideality factor, n, is unity for an ideal diode and less than 1.1 for a
silicon Schottky diode.

Variations in n are not important for n less than 1.1 [1] and will not be
considered in this note. The effect of saturation current, IS, is very
important when the level of local oscillator power is low. This will be
demonstrated by comparing results of mixing with diodes having
different values of saturation current. Although temperature, T, is seen
in the exponential and is present in a more complicated manner in
saturation current, the effect on mixing efficiency is less than 0.5 dB
for 100°C change in temperature. Temperature effects are more serious
in detector applications and are discussed in Application Note 956-6,
Temperature Dependence of Schottky Detector Voltage Sensitivity.

Electron charge, q, and Boltzmann constant, k, may be com-

bined in the equation:
V – IRS
(
I = IS e 0.026 –1)
 2

Conversion Loss
Mixing efficiency is measured by the conversion loss, the ratio of signal
input power to intermediate frequency output power. The intermediate
frequency is the difference between the signal frequency and the local
oscillator frequency. The diode may also generate the sum of these two
frequencies. In this case the mixer may be called an upconverter. For a
given local oscillator frequency, the difference frequency may be
produced by two signal frequencies – one above the L.O. frequency and
one below. Of course, noise is also contributed at these two
frequencies. In some cases, the mixer is designed to respond to both
these frequencies. A mixer of this type is called a double sideband
mixer. More commonly the mixer is designed to respond to one of
these inputs. Since noise comes from both frequencies the double
sideband mixer is better – typically 3 dB better.

Noise figure is another measure of mixing efficiency. This is the ratio

of signal to noise ratio at the input to signal to noise ratio at the output.
Single and double sideband definitions apply to noise figure also. In
some applications noise figure and conversion loss are essentially
equal. However, noise figure includes diode noise which becomes
significant at intermediate frequencies in the audio range (I/f noise). In
these applications noise figure may be much larger than conversion
loss.

Another complication of noise figure is the effect of the amplifier

following the mixer. Diode manufacturers include the effect of a 1.5 dB
noise figure I.F. amplifier in the mixer noise figure. Mixer
manufacturers do not include this amplifier in the mixer noise
definition. In this paper diode efficiency will be measured by
conversion loss.

Parasitic Losses
The diode equivalent circuit of Figure 1 shows the presence of two
RS
elements that degrade performance by preventing the incoming signal
from reaching the junction resistance where the mixing takes place.
Analysis of the voltage and current division shows that the loss in dB,
at incoming frequency ω, is: Cj Rj

10 log (1+RR
S
j
)
+ ω2 C2j RS Rj

This effect is shown by comparing performance of diodes with Figure 1. Equivalent Circuit
different values of capacitance and series resistance.

Local Oscillator Power Level

The two mixing signals are the local oscillator and the input signal. The
measure of performance is the conversion loss, the ratio of output
power to the power of the input signal. The local oscillator power level
influences the conversion loss. This effect will be shown for the 5082-
2817 diode.
 3

Spurious Response 9

Although mixing has been described as the production of the OPT.

8 DC BIAS
difference frequency from two inputs, the nonlinear characteristic of NO BIAS 5082-2817

CONVERSION LOSS (dB)

the diode also produces the sum frequency and sum and difference 7
frequencies of harmonics of the local oscillator and incoming
6
frequencies. Results of a study of these effects will be shown.
5

FO
Effects of DC Bias and Local Oscillator Power Level

RW
R

A
Figure 2 shows the conversion loss of a 5082-2817 mixer diode 4 D
BI
AS
measured at 2 GHz. The top curve was measured without DC bias.
3
Optimum DC bias was applied at each level for the bottom curve. The R EVERSE BIAS

curves meet at the optimum local oscillator level where bias does not 2
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
help. Below this level forward bias is used. Above this level reverse LOCAL OSCILLATOR POWER (dBm)

bias is used to reduce the rectified current.

Figure 2. Effect of DC Bias on
At low levels of L.O. power, the conversion loss degrades rapidly Conversion Loss
unless DC bias is used. At -10 dBm the degradation is about 7 dB from
the performance at the standard 0 dBm power level. Replacing the lost 9
L.O. power with DC bias recovers about 5 dB of the degradation.
8
5082-2800
At high levels of L.O. power the performance degrades again. This is Cj = 1.29 pF

CONVERSION LOSS (dB)

7 RS = 16 Ω
caused by the rapid increase of junction capacitance. Reverse bias
reduces the current and the capacitance, restoring the diode 6
performance. 5082-2755
Cj = 0.13 pF
5
FREQUENCY RS = 50 Ω
2 GHz
Capacitance and Series Resistance 4
5082-2817
The effect of junction capacitance and series resistance was studied by Cj = 0.84 pF
comparing conversion loss data measured with three diodes covering a 3 RS = 6 Ω

wide range of these parameters. The 5082-2800 is a general purpose

2
diode, typically used in clamping circuits.[2] The 5082-2817 is a 2 GHz -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
LOCAL OSCILLATOR POWER (dBm)
25

mixer diode. The 5082-2755 is a 10 GHz detector diode. Figure 3 shows

the conversion loss measured at 2 GHz for these three diodes. Figure 3. Effect of Capacitance and
Series Resistance on Conversion Loss
The 5082-2800 general purpose diode has a conversion loss several dB
worse than that of the other diodes. This is expected because this
diode has a higher junction capacitance.

The behavior of the low capacitance 5082-2755 detector diode is more

interesting. At local oscillator power levels below -3 dBm the
conversion loss is better than the loss of the 5082-2817 mixer diode, but
at higher power levels it is worse.

A good approximation to the effect of junction capacitance and series

resistance on conversion loss is:
RS
L1 = 1 + + ω2 C2j RS Rj
Rj

This is the ratio of available power to the power delivered to the

junction resistance, Rj, using the diode equivalent circuit of Figure 1.
 4

The value of junction capacitance varies with voltage as:

Co
C=
1– V
0.6

where 0.6 is a typical value of barrier voltage.

The relative values of conversion loss in Figure 3 may be explained by

these equations. Zero bias capacitances for the three diodes were
measured to be 0.84 pF, 1.29 pF, and 0.13 pF for the -2817, -2800, and
-2755 diodes respectively.

At a local oscillator power level of 1 milliwatt the forward current is

about 1 milliampere. Using the corresponding forward voltages, Cj is
computed for the three diodes. Assuming a junction resistance of 150
ohms, reasonable values of series resistance may be chosen to make
the relative values of L1 correspond to the relative measured values.

The familiar junction resistance equation Rj = 26/I does not apply for
I = rectified current. It refers to I = D.C. bias current. When rectified
current is 1 mA, instantaneous current varies over forward and reverse
values. Junction resistance is very large when the current is negative so
the average junction resistance is larger than predicted by this
equation.

Cj RS L1
Diode (pF) (ohms) (dB)
-2817 1.3 6 1.07
-2800 2.2 16 4.68
-2755 0.24 50 1.47

At -3 dBm the -2817 and -2755 curves cross, with the -2800 loss 4.5 dB
higher. This relative loss can be explained by raising Rj to 235 ohms
and decreasing the capacitance values.

Cj L1
Diode (pF) (dB)
-2817 1.12 1.2
-2800 2.1 5.7
-2755 0.23 1.2

These values of Cj and RS were chosen to illustrate the effect on

conversion loss. Since saturation currents are different for these diodes
and junction resistances may be different, the actual values of Cj and
RS may be somewhat different.

The L1 equation shows the loss behavior with frequency. At low

frequencies the loss is independent of frequency and capacitance.
Choosing a low value of series resistance provides the best diode. At
high frequencies low capacitance becomes more important than low
series resistance because capacitance is squared in the L1 equation.
 5

10
Figure 4 shows L1 vs. frequency for the 5082-2835 diode with RS = 6
ohms and Cj = 1.0 pF and for the HSCH-5310 diode with RS = 17 ohms 5082-2835
and Cj = 0.1 pF. The lower capacitance makes the -5310 the better Cj = 1.0 pF
RS = 6 Ω
diode at microwave frequencies while the lower resistance makes the

PARASITIC LOSS (dB)

1
-2835 the better diode at low frequencies.

The Effect of Barrier Voltage HSCH-5310

The type of metal deposited on silicon to form a Schottky barrier 0.1 Cj = 0.1 pF
RS = 17 Ω
influences the barrier voltage [3] which is involved in the saturation
current determining the forward current. We use the term low barrier
for diodes with low values of voltage for a given current (usually
1 mA). We have previously shown the effect of barrier voltage on the 0.01
0.01 0.1 1.0 10
variation of junction capacitance with forward voltage. FREQUECY (GHz)

Figure 4. Parasitic Loss

Figure 5 shows the measurement of conversion loss for two diodes
having a range of barrier potential values.
9
Barrier
8
Diodes Potential
5082-2817 0.64

CONVERSION LOSS (dB)

7 HSCH-3486
200 mV @ 1 mA
HSCH-3486 0.35
6

At low L.O. power levels the lower barrier diode has better 5
performance. At higher power levels this diode loses its advantage 5082-2817
because of higher series resistance. 4 350 mV

3
Effect of Load Resistance
Figure 6 shows the effect of mixer load resistance on conversion loss. 2
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
At low local oscillator power levels the effect is similar to the barrier LOCAL OSCILLATOR POWER (dBm)

effect. More rectified current flows with smaller load resistance so

Figure 5. Effect of Barrier on
performance is better. At higher power levels the degradation due to Conversion Loss
higher capacitance appears first with the lower load resistances. As a
result the optimum value of load resistance increases with L.O. power
level. At +9 dBm 100 ohms becomes better than 10 ohms. At +19.5 dBm
400 ohms becomes better than 100 ohms. 9
5082-2817

The load circuit can be designed to provide the optimum resistance as 8

the local oscillator power level changes. [4]

CONVERSION LOSS (dB)

7
10 Ω
RL = 1000 Ω
Harmonic Distortion 6
Sums and differences of multiples of the two mixing frequencies are 400 Ω
5
produced in the mixing diode. These frequencies appear as spurious 100 Ω
responses in the output. This effect was studied by setting the signal 4
frequency at 2 GHz and the power at -30 dBm. The local oscillator was
10 Ω
then set at various frequencies to produce harmonic mixing with a 3

difference frequency of 30 MHz. Local oscillator power was one

2
milliwatt. Then the local oscillator was set at 2 GHz and the signal -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
LOCAL OSCILLATOR POWER (dBm)
25

frequency varied. The output levels in dB below fundamental mixing

are shown in Figure 7. The diode was placed in a 50 ohm untuned
Figure 6. Effect of Load Resistance on
coaxial mount. Conversion Loss
 6

The output levels of the m1 products, mixing of the signal fundamental

4 19 39 X X
with multiples of the local oscillator, are much higher than the 1n

LOCAL OSCILLATOR
products, mixing of the local oscillator fundamental with multiples of
the signal. For example, the 2 x 1 output is 5 dB below fundamental. 3 13 38 X X

Figure 5 shows that this level of fundamental mixing corresponds to a

local oscillator level of -8 dBm. The doubling efficiency was about 8 dB. 2 5 45 56 42
The 1 x 2 output is 16 dB below fundamental mixing. This corresponds
to a signal level of -46 dBm. The doubling efficiency is 16 dB for the
1 0 16 21 43
lower level signal frequency. Although fundamental mixing in Figure 5
was measured in a tuned system and the data of Figure 7 was measured 1 2 3 4
in an untuned system, this analysis nevertheless gives a comparison of SIGNAL

multiplying at the one milliwatt and one microwatt power levels.

Mixing of signal multiples above 2 with local oscillator multiples above
Figure 7. Harmonic Distortion
the fundamental produced outputs below the -100 dBm sensitivity of
the receiver.

Two Tone Distortion

Harmonic distortion may be suppressed by a band pass filter at the
mixer input. When the distortion is caused by:

mfLO – nfS = fif

the unwanted frequency is:

m f
fS = n fLO – nIF

The narrowest filter required corresponds to m = n = 2 with a rejection

bandwidth equal to the intermediate frequency.

Two tone distortion is the result of two unwanted signals mixing with
each other and the local oscillator to produce an intermediate
frequency output. The equation is:

fLO – mf1 + nf2 = fIF

UT

Third order two tone intermod may correspond to m = 2, n= 1. In this

P
OUT

case the correct intermediate frequency is produced when the desired

ION

signal fS equals 2f1 - f2. The unwanted frequencies may be arbitrarily U

T
T

TP
TOR

close to the desired frequency so the problem cannot be solved with a U

SUPPRESSION

O 3A
filter. ED
DIS

R
ESI
D
Third order two tone distortion in a 5082-2817 diode was investigated
with a local oscillator frequency of 1.94 GHz and input frequencies
of 2 GHz and 1.985 GHz. The intermediate frequency was 2A A
2 x 1.985 - 2 - 1.94 = 0.03 GHz. The measure of distortion is the input PIN I.P.
intercept point, the power level where the line of output vs. input
power for the desired mixing intersects the extension of the spurious Figure 8. Intercept Point
line. This is shown in Figure 8. Since the desired output is linear, the
suppression of the spurious output is 2 A and input intercept is input
power plus half the suppression.

With the help of this relationship intercept point was measured as a

function of local oscillator power level. The results are shown in Figure
 7

9. At higher local oscillator power levels the desired output increases 8

while the spurious output decreases. This raises the suppression and
4
the intercept point. At lower levels both desired output and spurious

INPUT INTERCEPT POINT (dBm)

decrease so the intercept point levels off to a constant value. 0

-4
Multiple Diode Mixers
Although the intermediate frequency may be produced by mixing in a -8
single diode, very few mixers are made this way. The problems
generated by using a single diode include radiation of local oscillator -12

power from the input port, loss of sensitivity by absorption of input -16
power in the local oscillator circuit, loss of input power in the
intermediate frequency amplifier, and the generation of spurious -20
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0
output frequencies by harmonic mixing. Some of these problems may LOCAL OSCILLATOR POWER (dBm)

be solved by circuit techniques, but these circuits often introduce new

problems. Most mixers use multiple diode techniques to better solve Figure 9. Two-Tone Distortion
these problems.

Early mixer designs prevented loss of signal power in the local

oscillator circuit by loosely coupling the local oscillator power to the
mixer diode. This technique is wasteful of local oscillator power and it
sends as much power to the input, possibly an antenna, as it sends to
the diode. This local oscillator radiation could be interpreted as a
target return when received by a radar. This problem may be alleviated
by using a directional coupler to send the local oscillator power to the
mixer diode. Coupling must be loose so that L.O. power is still wasted.

A balanced mixer (Figure 10) provides a better solution. The hybrid

circuit splits the L.O. power to the two diodes with little coupling to the SIGNAL
antenna. A low pass filter is needed to prevent loss of power to the HYBRID
I.F.
COUPLER
intermediate frequency amplifier. Additional advantages are reduction
LOCAL
of L.O. noise and harmonic mixing. L.O. noise is rejected because two OSCILLATOR
signals originating in the same port produce I.F. outputs that cancel.
This is a property of the hybrid circuit. Similarly, even order harmonics
of either the L.O. or the signal produce cancelling outputs.
Figure 10. Balanced Mixer

In the double balanced mixer (Figure 11) even order harmonics of both
the L.O. and the signal frequency are rejected. This mixer does not
require a low pass filter to isolate the I.F. circuit. The three ports are
isolated from each other by the symmetry of the circuit. These mixers
usually cover a broader band than the others. Ratios as high as 1000:1
are available. Microwave equivalents of these mixer circuits are
available. Bandwidth ratios as high as 40:1 are available at microwave
frequencies.

Intermodulation distortion is reduced [5] when local oscillator power is

increased. Several design techniques are used to allow higher drive.

A higher barrier diode may be used to retain linear response at higher

drive levels. More than one diode may be used in each arm of the ring
in a double balanced mixer. This permits higher drive level without
overheating the diodes. Two rings may also be used to increase the
local oscillator level. This technique is also used for image tuning.
 References
1. Y. Harada et al, A Quantitive
Comparison Between Calculated
and Measured Conversion Losses
SIGNAL
LOCAL of a Novel Beam Lead GaAs
OSCILLATOR Schottky-Barrier Mixer Diode
with Minimized Parasitics, IEEE
Trans on Electron Devices, Vol.
ED-30, pp 860-862, July, 1983.
2. Hewlett-Packard Application Note
942, Schottky Diodes for High
Volume Low Cost Applications.
3. H. A. Watson, Editor, Microwave
Semiconductor Devices and Their
Figure 11. Double Balanced Mixer
I.F. Circuit Applications, McGraw-Hill
Book Company, New York, 1969.
4. Carl W. Gerst, Jr., New Mixer
Tuning for Better Sensitivity
Designs Boost D/F Performance,
The ideal mixer should convert all of the signal power to output power Microwaves, Vol. 12, No. 10, pp 60-
at the desired output frequency. However, it is customary to test diodes 95, Oct. 1973.
in a broadband mixer circuit. In this test no attempt is made to recover 5. Daniel Cheadle, Selecting Mixers
the power lost in the unwanted output frequencies. Because of these for Best Intermod Performance,
losses and the losses in the diode parasitics, an efficiency of about 35% Microwaves, December, 1973, pp
is usually achieved. 58-62.
6. Don Neuf, A Quiet Mixer,
Special circuits have been developed to improve this figure to come Microwave Journal, Vol. 16, No.
closer to the ideal 100% efficiency. The most serious spurious response, 5, May 1973.
called the image response, produces an output at the frequency 7. G. B. Stracca, F Aspesi, and
2 fLO - fS. Image recovery mixers are designed to recover this lost T. D’Arcangelo, Low-Noise
power. Two dB improvement has been reported.[6] By properly Microwave Down-Converter with
terminating harmonics up to the third, conversion loss under 2 dB was Optimum Matching at Idle
obtained with a Hewlett-Packard beam lead diode. [7] Frequencies, IEEE Trans. on MTT,
Vol. 21, No. 8, Aug. 1973, pp 544-
547.
Harmonic Mixing 8. R. J. Matreci and F. K. David,
While harmonic products are usually considered spurious, in some IEEE/MTT-S International
designs the desired output is the result of harmonic mixing. This is a Microwave Symposium Digest,
valuable mixer technique when the frequency is so high that it is 1983, pp 130-132.
difficult to generate the local oscillator power. Hewlett-Packard
Application Note 991, Harmonic Mixing With the HSCH-5500 Series
Dual Diode, describes a technique using the 2nd harmonic of the local
oscillator with little loss of efficiency compared to fundamental mixing.
Mixers using the 6th, 8th, and 10th harmonics are used to extend the
range of Hewlett-Packard spectrum analyzers to 60 GHz. [8] For technical assistance or the location of
your nearest Hewlett-Packard sales office,
distributor or representative call:
SUMMARY Americas/Canada: 1-800-235-0312 or
Schottky diode mixing efficiency is related to both diode parameters (408) 654-8675
and circuit parameters. Diode parameters studied include capacitance, Far East/Australasia: Call your local HP
resistance, and barrier voltage. Circuit parameters include DC bias and sales office.
load resistance. Japan: (81 3) 3335-8152
Europe: Call your local HP sales office.
Harmonic response and third order two tone intermodulation were also
Data Subject to Change
studied.
Copyright © 1986 Hewlett-Packard Co.
Printed in U.S.A. 5954-2073 (2/86)